McGee's in Trouble
by LucyTheLover
Summary: McGee has a secret and now due to some unforeseen circumstances and a escaped convict, it's brought to light. Now, the team must protect one of its own from a man hell bent on killing the one man who ruined his life. Can they do it? Is McGee safe even among friends? This is slash and i apologize for not saying so early on
1. Secret Revealed

It was just another day at the office for NCIS Agents McGee, DiNozzo, and Officer David. Tim McGee was typing rapidly on his computer probably trying to finish his report on their last case while Tony DiNozzo was arguing with Ziva David over something. Or maybe he was boasting about his date that weekend with some hot chick he met while getting coffee at Starbucks. Who knows with Tony?

Anyway, they were about to leave for the weekend since they weren't on call when their boss Agent Jethro Gibbs strolled in.

"I hope none of you have plans this weekend. There's a dead Marine Commander dead in his home just down the street. Get your gear." He said grabbing his gun from his drawer.

The three Agents grabbed guns and bags and followed their boss to the elevator. They rode it down and left NCIS and walked down to their crime scene. A good sized crowd was already gathered outside of the police tape so they shouldered their way through. Flashing their badges had the policeman lifting the tape and allowing them in. Ducky, their coroner, was already crouched beside the body with his assistant Jimmy Palmer on the other side.

"Ziva, talk to some of these people and see if anyone saw anything. DiNozzo, sketch the scene. McGee, bag and tag." Gibbs says. They go about their tasks. "What we have, Duck?"

"Commander Hugo Jackson. It seems Mr. Jackson has been shot twice by what looks like a small caliber gun. I won't know for sure until I get him on my table." Ducky says.

Gibbs stepped back as the two loaded the victim on a gurney and wheeled him to the van. The two drove off a few moments later. They spent a good hour or so before finding all their was to find. A .22 was the most important. They walked back to NCIS and McGee took their evidence to Abby.

As they waited, they sat at their desks. Soon, Abby ran into the bullpen with a huge smile on her face.

"I got a match on the print from the gun you found at the scene!" She says. She grabbed the clicker to the big scene and a picture of a man with numerous tattoos and a long criminal record popped up.

"That's Johnny Barnes!" Tony says standing and going over to the screen.

McGee, who was watching his computer screen, head shot up quickly when he heard the name. His face lost its color as he looked at the man's face.

"Who is Johnny Barnes?" Ziva asks.

"He's known as the Hangman. He murdered 13 people like 20 some years ago. He always hung his victims after torture ring them for days. He was caught and sentenced to life in prison. What I heard is that a witness testified to put him away." Tony says excited.

"If he got life, how is he out?" Abby asks.

"He escaped."

Everyone turns to see Fornell.

"Tobias." Gibbs says.

"Jethro, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take over here. And take McGee into my custody." Fornell says.

Everyone turns and sees McGee staring at the screen. Gibbs ran over to him when he saw him starting to sway and his face go white as a sheet.

"McGee!" Gibbs shouts.

McGee looks up at his boss and Gibbs grew worried at the undeniable look of horror and fear across his Agent's face.

"He's back." McGee whispers grabbing onto Gibbs's wrist.

"Fornell, who is he?" Gibbs asks keeping his eyes locked with his Agent.

"Not here. Conference room." Fornell says.

Gibbs helped McGee up. He had yet to release Gibbs's wrist so he was pulled along by the older Agent. Tony, Abby, and Ziva followed behind with Abby calling Ducky and Palmer to meet them.

A few minutes later, all of them was seated in the conference room with the door shut and locked. McGee sat at the end of the table and had his eyes cast downward.

"Explain, Tobias." Gibbs says.

"It might be best if McGee does." Fornell says.

All eyes turn to McGee, who was shaking slightly and still keeping his gaze on the table.

"What's up, Probie?" Tony asks.

"Do you really want them to hear this from me, McGee?" Fornell asks.

McGee sighs and looks up.

"I was the witness who put away Johnny Barnes." McGee says.

"You would have been around 18 at the time correct, Timothy?" Ducky asks getting up and taking the seat beside the younger man.

"17 actually." McGee whispers.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Abby asks.

"I guess I have no choice." McGee says taking a deep breath. "I was 17 trying to finish my senior year of high school. One night after a horrible day at school, I went walking down the street. Stupid, I know. It was dark and not many of the street lamps worked but I saw a figure walk up to the house of this girl I went to school with. Her name was Mary and she was my age. We were good friends. Anyway, I saw him open the window and slide in. I thought that was odd."

"Maybe she was sneaking in a boy after mom and da was sleeping." Tony says. Gibbs slaps the back of his head. "Sorry, boss."

"Mary wasn't like that. As I was saying, it was odd so I decided to go up to Mary's house. I was climbing in the window when I heard a gunshot. The nearest houses were empty so no one would have heard it. Being a teenager, I ran towards it. I made it to Mary's room to witness the second shot. It was the one that killed Mary. The guy turned and saw me and I saw his face clearly. It was Johnny Barnes. Then I turned and ran. He came after me and caught me…"

McGee began to unconsciously rub his shoulder. Ducky placed a hand on McGee's shoulder and everyone saw McGee being pulled back into the past.

"Do you need a break, McGee?" Ziva asks concerned.

McGee shook his head and continued having to relive that horrible night.


	2. McGee's Past

_"__You can't hide from me, boy! I'll find you and when I do, it won't be pretty!" Johnny shouted from the hallway._

_Teenager Tim McGee ran into the main bedroom and closed the door with a slam. Johnny smiled and stalked towards it with gun in hand. _

_Tim locked the door and looked around frantically for something, anything, to protect himself. He was frightened out of his mind but he had to remain calm. That was one lesson the Navy taught his father and his father had passed it onto him. He tried, he really did._

_That is, until the bedroom door was kicked open. Johnny stood grinning and Tim made a dash towards the window. Johnny saw this and jumped for him. Tim was knocked down and the air rushed from his lungs painfully. His arms were pulled behind his back and he felt something thin pulled tight around them. Tim then begins to cry._

_"__P-please don't hurt me." He sobbed._

_Johnny smiled and stood. He placed the gun in his the waist of his jeans and grabbed hold of Tim's ankles. He dragged the teenager to the stairs and pulled him down. The boy grunted and sobbed as his face hit every stair. Then he was dragged to the kitchen and pucked up and shoved into a chair._

_"__L-let me go." Tim sobbed looking at Johnny._

_"__Can't do that, champ. Can't have a witness. But, I can make this interesting for the both of us…or just me. I have all night." He said smiling cruelly. _

_Tim did not like the sound of that._

_Johnny looked through a bunch of different drawers before pulling out a big knife that made Tim's eyes widen in fear. Johnny played with the edge of the blade then the tip smiling as a small knick and blood appeared on the finger he caressed it with._

_"__Sharp. I do so love it when people take care of their knives."_

_The young teenager gulped fearfully and looked at the doorway and the door leading to his freedom._

_"__Don't think of running, kid. Won't end pretty." Johnny said._

_"__B-but you're going to…to kill me a-anyway." Tim stuttered letting his panic take over._

_Johnny turned and walked over to him. He placed the knife tip to Tim's Adam's apple and the young man swallowed hard and whimpered. He closed his eyes tightly not wanting to see the look on his would be murderer's face._

_"__Shh, it'll all be over soon enough." Johnny whispered in his ear. His hot breath made Tim shiver and he whimpered again. A dark chuckle made him cringe away and open his eyes slightly._

_Johnny was right in his face and the knife was brought up to eye level. The tip was dangerously close to his left eye. Then it slowly went back down his throat and to his chest where it was poked hard into the fabric of his shirt then it went lower to his abdomen and hovered. _

_"__Oh, where should I place the first wound?" Johnny asked cheerfully. Then he froze and grabbed a dish cloth and shoved it into Tim's mouth nearly gagging him. "Can't have you screaming off that pretty head of yours. Don't who might be lurking outside in the dark, do we?"_

_The knife went even lower and was gently touching his private area. Tim tried to scoot back but Johnny grabbed his shoulder and held him still._

_"__Wouldn't want me to slip, do you?" He asked chuckling and continued moving the knife._

_Then, it became a sort of game. Johnny wound move the knife to random places and poke it into the skin but not yet bringing blood. It made Tim anxious and tense. He never knew where the knife was going or when Johnny would wound him first._

_Finally, he made a long cut on the upper left arm. Tim bit down on the cloth in his mouth but it didn't muffle his whimper of pain. He felt the blood slid down his arm and drip onto the chair and floor. _

_The second one was more painful than the first. This time he cut down the middle of Tim's shirt and dragged the knife down from his left nipple down to the waist of Tim's jeans leaving a bloody trail in its wake. Poor Tim couldn't help but let the loose the whimpers. They seemed to urge Johnny on._

_More shallow cuts were made on his collarbone, neck, and both his arms. They hurt but became a small throb within a minute or two. Now Tim felt achy and nasty as the blood dried and caked onto his skin. From Johnny's point of view, the wounds looked terrible which made him excited and ready for the next step._

_Out of his many victims, he never had so much fun as with Tim. Plus, Tim would be his first male victim. He was just so excited!_

_"__You know what the police have been calling me? The Silent Shadow. Well, not officially. I've heard a few mentions the name around a few times in town. It does have a certain ring to it, though. Anyway, time's almost up, boy." Johnny said almost disappointed._

_The knife was brought up high and brought down at a fast speed. Tim tried to shout out but the cloth prevented it. He tried to scream as the knife descended and his death brought with it._

_Suddenly, the door was kicked in and cops flooded in and all guns were trained on Johnny. _

_"__Drop the knife and move away from the kid!" One shouted._

_Johnny let the knife fall to the floor and two cops were on him in an instant. The cop that had shouted came over to Tim and took the dish cloth from his mouth. Tim let out a sob of relief._

_"__Son, can you tell me your name?" He asked. His name plate said Sax. _

_"__T-Tim McGee." _

_"__Alright, Tim. Paramedics are going to come get you. After you get checked over, I need you to come and give me you statement and tell me what happened here, alright?" Officer Sax said. Tim nodded. His bindings were freed and the officer helped Tim to the ambulance._


	3. Planning

_**Arthur's Note: I'm going to try and post a chapter a day. I'm glad you guys already like it! That means a lot! And i have officially finished my other story 'Hostage Situation' if you happen to want to read it. Remember, you guys are awesome and i love reading your reviews! :)**_

_**-Lucy 3**_

"How did they know you were there?" Ziva asks as everyone is speechless.

"A jogger having a night run heard one of the shots and called the police." McGee says.

"Why did it take them so long to get there?" Gibbs asks a little angry after hearing how McGee was treated by Johnny Barnes.

"The jogger had to run to the nearest house to call. That was about a good 2 miles away, I think." McGee says.

"Do you think this man will come after you after all this time, Timothy?" Ducky asks.

"At the trial, he swore up and down he would kill me for putting him away. So, yes, I believe he would, Ducky." McGee says sighing.

"And is why I'm taking him into protective custody." Fornell says.

"I don't trust the FBI to watch over my Agent, Tobias. NCIS can protect him." Gibbs says.

"No! No. I don't want to risk your guy's safety." McGee says.

"Too bad. You're going to stay with me until we find Johnny Barnes." Gibbs says with a tone that says 'don't argue with me because it's happening'.

"But, boss…"

"McGee, you're staying with me and that's it." Gibbs growls.

"He's not going to take no as an answer, Probie." Tony says smiling. McGee sighs in defeat.

"Fine." McGee grumbles.

"Since that's settled, I'll be leading the investigation on finding Johnny Barnes." Fornell says.

"You know how hard that's going to be? The only reason he was caught in the first place is because I stumbled in on him murdering Mary and her mom! And he decided playing around with me was a good choice." McGee says flinching at his own words.

"If he comes after you, we will be there to catch him. This time, he will make mistakes." Ziva says.

"How do you know that?" McGee asks.

"Because he is only focused on revenge. When that is all on one's mind, they get untidy." Ziva says.

"It's sloppy, Ziva." Tony says.

"Is it not the same thing? I see no difference." Ziva says.

"This is terrible. Someone shouldn't want to harm Timmy!" Abby says.

"I know, Abigail." Ducky says.

"Tobias, come with me and we'll speak to Leon about us being on protection detail." Gibbs says standing. He and Fornell leave the room.

"Come, Mr. Palmer. We have to work a little longer on reports, I'm afraid." Ducky says. he then pats McGee on the shoulder. "Don't you worry, Timothy. With someone like Jethro watching your back, you have nothing to fear."

Then he and Palmer are gone leaving Ziva, Tony, and Abby alone with Tim.

"How come this wasn't in your file, Probie?" Tony asks.

"My dad used his connections in the Navy to have it deleted. Only the locals know of it anymore." McGee says.

"This is huge, McGee! How come you never told any of us?" Abby asks.

"I wanted it to keep it a secret, Abby. Didn't want anyone to know what had happened to me. Not something to be proud of, you know?" McGee says.

"You were captured by a notorious serial killer and survived. Lesser men in Israel have died of less, McGee." Ziva says.

"That doesn't really make me feel better, Ziva." McGee says. He stands. "I think I'm going to go lay down. Can I use your futon, Abby?"

"Go ahead. And you can use Bert as a pillow, if you want." Abby says.

"Thanks." McGee says. Then he's gone.

Abby, Ziva, and Tony go to the bullpen and see Gibbs sitting at his desk.

"What's the plan, boss?" Tony asks.

"Find Barnes before he finds McGee. Tony, you and I will be tonight's protective detail." Gibbs says.

"Sure, boss." Tony says.

"Ziva, head to McGee's house and pack him a bag and drop it off at my house. Just when you pick the lock, don't let my neighbors see you." Gibbs says.

"Yes, boss." She says. Then she's gone.

"You really don't have to do this, boss." McGee says.

Gibbs looks at him and slaps the back of his head. McGee nods and gives up his resisting.

20 minutes later, Ziva returns. Gibbs looks at her a moment and briefly wonders how fast she actually went to get to McGee's apartment and to his house. Then he remembers, Ziva drives faster than he does and that was saying something.

For the rest of the day, McGee stayed in Abby's lab and slept while his team found all they could on Johnny Barnes.

"He's 47, never been married, has no kids, and killed 13 women within a 6 month period and was never caught." Tony says.

"Until McGee witnessed two of his kills." Ziva says.

"What else?" Gibbs asks.

"He held and tortured McGee for about maybe 15 minutes before police arrived on scene. He sustained several cuts and bruises but none were deep enough to cause too much damage." Tony says.

They pull up photos from the file they got from Fornell. Tony visibly winced at the injuries. They weren't bad but seeing them on the teen McGee made them seem so much worse.

"What are we going to do now, Gibbs?" Ziva asks.

"Find all we can on this guy. Speak with Fornell on the details. Call the Warden of the prison Barnes was in. try and find how he escaped! Call McGee's hometown and see if you can talk to the Officer who found him that night. We need to catch this bastard for his sake." Gibbs says.

Tony and Ziva nod in unison and go about their tasks, motivated by the image of young Tim McGee and his injuries still on the big screen.


	4. Johnny Barnes POV

**_Johnny Barnes POV _**

Johnny was walking down the street with his hood up and wearing sunglasses. He bought some blonde hair dye and new clothes with some money in a wallet he pick pocketed from some guy.

He had went into a gym and dyed and changed in their locker room and threw his old clothes into a trashcan. Now he wore some nice jeans, a tight t-shirt, and had blonde hair. He looked nothing like he did when he was in prison. He even shaved off his beard. He felt like new man.

At this moment, he was buying a prepaid phone with the rest of the cash he had and went on to try and figure out how he would get Tim McGee.

First, he had to actually find him.

He smiled crookedly. He would enjoy this hunt. Making his way down the street, he thought of what he would do to the man once he had McGee in his clutches again. Maybe he would be quick like the women. No, that didn't sound right. Maybe he would do as he did those 20 odd years ago and take his time. If he did, he would have to find a place out of the way so no one would interrupt them like last time.

Maybe he would snatch him in the dead of night and hold him a few days and let him imagine all the possible things that could happen to him. Maybe he would kidnap him, tie him up, throw him in a small room, and let his own imagination take over. He could even tie him to a chair and gag him while he would go about his day as if McGee wasn't even there.

So many options, all sounding just so wonderful to do. If he waits long enough to kill him, he might just do them all.

He smiled and continued on his way. He'll have to find McGee somehow.

He passed a bookstore and decided to stop in and buy a book to pass his time. When he picked up one called Deep Six, he opened the back to see what this Thom E Gemcity. He smiled when he saw a picture of the older Timothy McGee. Oh he would have fun with this.


	5. Attempt One

As McGee lay there on Abby's futon, he thought of the things he left out of his encounter with the Hangman/Shadow Killer.

Yes, Timothy McGee did not tell his team everything. Some of the things he left out was very embarrassing and shameful. And thanks to that man, McGee never has sex with anyone unless the room is dark. That was one thing he liked about when he and Abby was together: her bedroom was completely black but when she wanted to see him, he had panicked and they broke up. She never asked why and just accepted it.

I bet you're wondering what he was hiding. Well, here it is.

_Tim was sitting in the chair his body aching. The shallow cuts stung and his panic was rising as he waited for Johnny Barnes to kill him._

_"__Oh how fun this is! I bet you're just waiting for me to kill you, huh? Bet you want all of this to be over. You want to go home and act like this never happened. Well, you won't be." Johnny taught with a smile._

_He goes behind Tim and pulls down his shirt off the shoulder._

_"__You know what? I think I might just start leaving a calling card. That would certainly give me more recognition. You should feel special being my first male victim and to have my first ever calling card!" He says smiling._

_Tim tried to crane his head to see Johnny but he couldn't. All he could see was the light reflecting off the blade of the knife. He could see his blood staining the blade and the urge to vomit took over. He knew he could probably drown on it if he threw up while the dish clothe was still in his mouth so he swallowed the urge down. It did nothing to dislodge the lump that had formed in his throat._

_"__What should it be? Hmm. Maybe an X carved in your shoulder? Or a smiling face because I'm smiling watching your pain? So many choices! What do you have to say?"_

_Johnny removed the cloth._

_"__Let me go, please." Tim says as he began to cry his embarrassment be damned!_

_"__I thought I done told you that you wouldn't be leaving? Anyway, how about I just carve my initials? Brand you as mine." Johnny says. He shoves the clothe back in Tim's mouth muffling his sob._

_Tim felt the tip of the knife digging into his shoulder. Blood was drawn as Johnny dug it in deep and began making a good sized J into Tim's shoulder blade. Tim cried harder and tried to cry out but the stupid dish cloth muffled his attempts. The pain felt hot and seemed to flare across his whole back. It burned as Johnny traced the letter a few times digging deeper and deeper. When he stopped and pulled the knife away. He could practically hear Johnny's smile from behind him. Tim hung his head and let the tears fall onto his jeans._

_"__One down and one to go!" Johnny says._

_Tim snapped his head up and shook it and tried to protest. Johnny held onto his shoulder to keep him still and began on the B. His still tender shoulder flared in pain. He screamed and squirmed trying to get away from Johnny, the knife, the pain but the serial killer halted his movements by pressing the knife to his throat._

_"__Stay. Still." Johnny hissed._

_He made no more movement as the man finished carving JB into Tim's flesh. Tim sobbed as the pain radiated and the blood slide down his back and staining his shirt. He hung his head again. Johnny walked back in front of him and used the knife to bring Tim's eyes even with his own._

_"__You're mine, boy. Now and forever and you best remember that until you die. Which will be in about 5 minutes." _

_All Tim could do was close his eyes._

This is what happened before the cops showed up and before Johnny had begun the cutting game.

Tim never did forget the pain he had felt that night. He didn't want to relive that or tell his friends and team that he had been branded by that serial killer and claimed by him. The stupid brand on his shoulder still throbbed on and off since that day. Today it was being much worse with Johnny Barnes escaping.

He sighed and closed his eyes trying to sleep just a little. He held on to the little hope that this was a dream and that he was actually home slumped over on his desk sleeping because he had been up working on his next book.

Unfortunately, it was actually happening and he was on Abby's futon while the others talked about how to protect him. He hated that he had to be protected in the first place. He was a grown man. He could protect himself from Johnny.

_'__You didn't back then.'_ A voice says in his head.

"I was a kid!" McGee whispers. "I couldn't protect myself."

_'__You could have, Tim. Your father was in the Navy. He taught you how to fight your battles.'_ The voice says.

Tim ignored the voice. He slumped further down into the futon feeling worse knowing he was somewhat a disappointment. To who, he didn't really know. His father for not protecting himself? Gibbs for not being the type of tough Agent he wanted? To the Director because he was nothing but some guy transferred from Cyber Crime playing Agent? To Tony and Ziva for not being better at his job? Himself for now doubting his own abilities as an Agent?

As time ticked by, McGee became more depressed and his thoughts became darker. Maybe he should have died years ago at the hands of Johnny. If he did, Gibbs wouldn't have to deal with him now and be disappointed or angry at him. Maybe he should sneak off and be in the open where Johnny could find him and allow the man to finish the job.

"McGee, I can hear your bad thoughts from here."

McGee looks up to see Abby standing in the door way.

"Yeah well, can't stop them." McGee says standing.

Abby ran and threw her arms around him.

"Don't you worry, Timmy! We'll find him and protect you." She says.

"I don't want anyone protecting me!" McGee snaps. Then he's storming out and taking the elevator down to Autopsy.

He looks in to find both Jimmy and Ducky focused on paperwork so he sneaks into the garage from there and finds his car. He climbs in and debates whether or not to drive off. After about 5 minutes, he does it.

"Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby yells as she runs into the bullpen.

Gibbs looks up. Both Ziva and Tony look up as well.

"Got something, Abs?" Gibbs asks.

"It's Tim. He snapped at me and now I can't find him!" Abby says near tears.

"He wouldn't do anything stupid, would he, boss?" Tony asks.

Gibbs stands and places on his gun.

"He would. Abby, track his location using his cell. Call me when you find him. DiNozzo, with me." Gibbs says.

"On you six, boss." Tony says getting his gun.

The two runs out and climb into Gibbs's car. Then Tony's phone begins to ring. It's Abby so he answers and places it on speaker.

_"__Tim's at his place, Tony. It shows him moving South now towards the docks."_ She says.

"Thanks, Abby." Tony says. He hangs up.

"Try calling him, DiNozzo." Gibbs demands.

Tony does but it rings until his phone goes to voicemail.

"He didn't answer, boss."

"Keep trying!" Gibbs snaps.

Tony calls at least 4 times as Gibbs weaves in and out of traffic going break neck speed. He takes a short cut that would cut off McGee before he would reach the docks.

McGee's phone rang again but he ignored it. He knew that Abby was most likely tracking him using his phones GPS but he didn't really care. All he cared about was getting into the more populated area of Virginia and disappearing into the crowd.

He pulled onto a curve and got out and locked his car. He kept his phone with him and turned it off so the signal would be lost.

Walking through the crowded streets, McGee looked at every face hoping to spot Johnny Barnes. It was a one in a million chance that he would but McGee needed to find him before being found.

As he walked, a tall man with blonde hair stopped him.

"Are you Thom E. Gemcity?" He asks. McGee smiles.

"Yes I am." McGee says.

"I'm a big fan of yours! Deep Six is one of my favorite books." The man says. "Would you sign my book for me? I left it in my car down the street."

"Of course." McGee says.

He follows the man down the street and they chat about Deep Six for a while. What McGee doesn't know, and hopefully you caught on, this was no normal fan of Thom E. Gemcity. If you remember, Johnny Barnes had changed his appearance and now McGee was following him to somewhere.

McGee wasn't the bit suspicious as he ought to be when talking to the stranger. To him, it was just another fan of his book, not the serial killer who was after him.

When they kept walking and went past several cars, this is when McGee began to feel uneasy in the presence of the blonde haired man. Then they turned a corner and McGee found himself shoved into an ally and pushed to the end.

"What…?" McGee says confused.

Then he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Well, Mr. Gemcity, or should I say Tim McGee? Remember me? You might not since I did change my looks just a bit." Johnny says smiling cruelly.

"Barnes." Tim says in a somewhat growl.

"Bingo! Give the kid a prize!" Johnny says laughing.

"You plan on killing me in broad daylight, Barnes? Bit bold for you." McGee says trying to keep his fear under control. That was easier said than done.

"Oh no, Timmy! You and I are going for a ride! So, lead us nice and easy to your car." Johnny says.

"I could just take you now and arrest you. I'm a Federal Agent, you know." McGee says.

Johnny looked taken aback slightly but then smiled.

"Even better! Big bad Agent man killed by an escapee! I can see all that media coverage now!" Johnny says excitedly.

"Once my team catches you, prison will seem like child's play." McGee says growing nervous.

"But they won't catch me! Once I kill you and dump your body and they manage to find it, I'll already be in Mexico drinking margaritas and dancing with those pretty senoritas."

"Then I can. We leave this ally, it'll be just as easy to call for help." McGee says.

Then he's being grabbed and the gun being shoved behind him into the small of his back.

"Oh but you won't because if you do, I'll start shooting those poor innocent people out there going about their day." Johnny says cheerfully. "And you wouldn't want that now would you, Timmy?"

McGee says nothing and then their walking forward and out of the ally and into the crowd.

"Which way is your car, Timmy?"

"Down that way." McGee says nodding the way he had come.

Johnny pushes him that direction and they walk.

"So, Timmy, tell me how being an Agent is. I mean, do they let anyone join? I remember you being a frightened, young boy when we first met."

"It's Agent McGee, Barnes. And I'm very good at my job." McGee says.

"Really? You can't be that good since you are currently being kidnapped by a serial killer." Johnny says.

McGee hates to admit this to himself but Johnny did have a point. He wasn't that good if he was allowing himself to be taken in the middle of the day among the crowds. That thought just made him feel depressed. He wasn't even fighting back for God's sake!

"You won't get away with it you know. My boss won't allow it." McGee says watching the crowd around them hoping someone would understand he was in need of some help.

"He's not going to get me, Timmy! If I manage to escape a highly guarded prison, I think I can escape your big bad boss." Johnny says laughing. McGee huffed.

When they turned the corner, McGee felt a smile come to his face when he saw Gibbs and Tony talking to someone near his car. Johnny didn't notice them but did see McGee's smile.

"What are smiling about there, Timmy? Thinking of some girl you wished you fucked earlier?" Johnny asks pushing the gun harder into his back.

"Oh it's nothing, Barnes." McGee says as they get closer to Gibbs and Tony.

He willed for the two Agents to look in his direction. As if his prayers were answered, Tony turned and saw him. He poked Gibbs and pointed at him.

"Shit." Johnny mumbled.

"McGee! What do you think you're doing?" Gibbs growls angry.

"I wanted to see my dear friend, sir." Johnny says. "Ain't that right, Timmy?"

McGee looked right into Gibbs's eyes and something must have shone because Gibbs went for his gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Johnny says moving his gun up and placing it against McGee's neck.

The people around them screamed at the sight of the gun. They scrambled away and left a good amount of the street opened for the Agents and Johnny.

"Release him, Barnes." Gibbs demands.

"Oh but he's so pretty! I think I'll keep him!" Johnny says. McGee wrinkles his nose in disgust at being called pretty.

"You alright, Probie?" Tony asks slowly inching towards his gun.

"Fine, Tony." McGee says clenching his teeth as the gun is pressed into his neck hard enough to bruise. At least he wasn't dead yet. He could live with a bruise if it meant he would live.

"So you know he's ok! Now, Timmy and I are leaving so move along, Agents." Johnny says grabbing McGee's shoulder and inching him towards the car. Gibbs and Tony brought up their guns and pointed them at them.

"We're not letting you leave, Barnes." Gibbs says.

McGee felt Johnny tense and felt his hand clench his shoulder tightly.

"Then I guess I'll let him go." Johnny says with a dark chuckle. McGee did not like the sound of that.

Suddenly, McGee found himself rolling into oncoming traffic. He rolled to the left to avoid a semi. Then the right and back to the left and back trying to avoid the cars as they tried avoiding him.

"McGee!" McGee heard Tony shout.

He looked up and then a car ran over his leg and stopped. McGee shouted in pain as his bone crunched under rubber. Tony ran into traffic stopping it. A few other men had lept out to stop it, too as Tony ran to McGee. The owner of the car that ran over McGee jumped out. He was a short man with a round middle.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry! I tried to stop, I swear!" He shouts frantically.

"Stop babbling and call an ambulance, damn it!" McGee says sitting up and holding his swelling leg. His leg felt like it was on fire and that fire felt like it was spreading.

"Whoa there, McCurse. Just stay calm. An ambulance is on its way and Gibbs went after Barnes." Tony says.

"I can't be calm, Tony! I was just ran over by a fucking car!" McGee shouts. He begins to feel light headed and dizzy. "I feel sick."

"Throw up if you have to but away from me." Tony says trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Never mind." McGee whispers. Then he's falling back and darkness takes over. The last thing he heard was Tony yelling his name.


	6. Anger and Nightmares

**I know this is a little late but i wasnt home at all until now so here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**-Lucy**

McGee slowly regain consciousness because of whispering voices coming from somewhere above him and some sort of beeping.

_Beep…Beep…Beep_

"…and could have been worse." That voice was unfamiliar.

"How? He was run over by a car!" Oh, Tony. What was he doing here and where was 'here'?

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs. Then he heard the undeniable sound of Tony getting his head slapped.

"We could have had to do major surgery. His leg could have had to be put back together by pins or we could have to remove the leg all together if the bones had been shattered completely. Fortunately for Mr. McGee that this wasn't the case. It was a simply break and only needed a cast." The unfamiliar voice says.

Wait…leg in a cast? SIMPLE BREAK? HIS LEG WAS BROKEN?

He opened his eyes halfway and saw the blurry forms of Tony, Gibbs, and a man in a white coat. That would explain where he was. A hospital. McGee groaned and Gibbs turned to him.

"Welcome back to consciousness, Mr. McGee. How do you feel?" The man asks.

"Tired. Sore. What happened?" McGee says. He opens his eyes completely now and blinks the blurriness away so he can see them all clearly. His voice feels scratchy and Gibbs hands him a glass of water which he sips gratefully.

"You were pushed into traffic and ran over by a car, McGeek." Tony says.

"Broke your left leg. The cast will have to stay on for the next month and then you will have to attend physical therapy for a few weeks after." The doctor says.

"When will I be able to do field work again?" McGee asks.

"You'll be on desk duty until I say, McGee." Gibbs says leaving no room for argument.

"If all goes well, you'll be back in the field in about 2 months, Mr. McGee." The doctor says. McGee nods and the doctor leaves.

"What was you thinking, McGee?" Gibbs asks angry now. "Why did you leave NCIS when you knew that Barnes was out there and looking to kill you?"

"I wasn't." McGee says not wanting to tell his boss that he got depressed and wasn't thinking straight.

"I know you weren't! I should suspend you for it, McGee! You could have been killed today for you stupidity!" Gibbs snaps. McGee just nods.

"You had use worried, Probie." Tony says.

"Yes you did. Now, once you are discharged, you're coming home with me and staying there. You will not go anywhere without me or Tony or Ziva with you. I don't care where it is. It could be the damn bathroom for all I care! But someone will be with you. Do I make myself clear, McGee?" Gibbs says.

"Yes, boss." McGee says.

"Good. Get some rest. The doctor's releasing you tomorrow around noon." Gibbs says letting his anger release.

McGee nods and closes his eyes. The beeping of the heart monitor sooths him and he fall asleep within minutes.

"We have to follow him to the bathroom, boss?" Tony asks.

"Until we find Johnny Barnes, yes. I will not risk him being taken like today."

"Right." Tony says.

"Head back to NCIS, DiNozzo. I'm staying here tonight." Gibbs says.

"Yes, boss." Tony says.

Tony leaves and Gibbs settles in the chair beside McGee's hospital bed. He looks at the bulky, white cast covering up to McGee's left knee. Gibbs knew it could have been worse. His youngest Agent could have been dead.

Then he felt anger towards Johnny Barnes. He placed his agent in danger and was after him. Since this first attempt went wrong, he would try until he succeeded. Gibbs would not allow him to. Johnny Barnes would not get away from him again.

As Gibbs watched the face of his agent, his own face softened. McGee was one of the sweetest men he as ever met and he just couldn't get the idea of someone wanting a man like him dead even if Johnny tried to kill him before. McGee was just too likeable and caring. The man barely even spoke an unkind word about anyone!

With that thought, Gibbs leaned back and began the first night of McGee's protection detail.

The next day, McGee was woken up at 10 and a nurse and his doctor gave him crutches. They adjusted them to his height and helped him walk around his room. Then he was discharged and Gibbs drove him to his house. Gibbs helped him inside and onto his couch.

"Ziva brought you some things over from your apartment yesterday. You'll be staying in my guest room down at the end of the hall. The bathroom is beside it and my room is across from it. You need anything; you have permission to shout at me. Now, you want anything to drink?"

"Water would be fine, boss." McGee says.

"It's Jethro outside of work, McGee."

"Then it's Tim. Oh and, Jethro? Thanks for letting me stay here." McGee says settling into a comfortable position on Gibbs's couch.

"I would do it for anyone on the team, Tim. And you're welcome." Gibbs says. He goes into the kitchen and returns with a glass of water. Tim takes it and drinks it slowly.

"You think Johnny going to try again, Jethro?"

"Yes." Gibbs says. "He's waited over 20 years to come back and murder you. He's not going to give up after one try."

McGee sighed and leaned back. Gibbs sat beside him and placed a hand on McGee's shoulder.

"You know the team will protect you, Tim." Gibbs says.

"I don't want to be protected!" McGee snaps and then flushes in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Don't ever apologize, Tim."

"This whole thing is just making me angry! I feel like I did years ago when Johnny first captured me! It feels like I'm the defenseless, frightened 17 year old kid again. I hate feeling like that, boss." McGee says getting worked up.

"Jethro, Tim. And I understand. But you're not defenseless and you're not that kid anymore. You're a Federal Agent and a damn good one. Don't doubt that. And it's ok to let other people have your back."

"I know, Jethro. It's…hard I guess. I've always had to be protected in high school by the teachers because I was a geek. Then in college because I was younger. And now I have to have you guys protect me from someone wanting to kill me because I was the only one of his victims to get away." McGee says rubbing his shoulder.

"Why do you keep doing that? You did it when you first told us of your experience with Barnes and now. Did he do something to you?" Gibbs asks.

McGee drops his hand and his eyes.

"Yes." McGee whispered.

"May I?" Gibbs asks tugging the collar of McGee's button up. Gibbs could see McGee was becoming uncomfortable at the thought of him seeing the brand. "Whatever he did won't make me think any less of you, Tim."

McGee nods and begins to slowly unbutton his shirt. He let the let fall off his shoulder and heard Gibbs take in a sharp breathe. With his eyes shut tight, McGee mentally prepared himself for Gibbs to judge him for being branded by Johnny.

"Is this what you're afraid for people to know about?" Gibbs says. "You shouldn't be afraid of showing this. It's a sign you survived. Don't be ashamed for being alive."

"I can't help it! He branded me. Told me I was his for the rest of my life."

"No. If anyone, your ass belongs to me now. You're part of my team and we watch each others six."

"I know, Jethro." McGee says.

"Good. Now, I'm about to make some dinner. Hope you like pasta." Gibbs says standing.

"Pasta sounds fine." McGee says. Gibbs nods and goes into the kitchen.

When he's done, they both sit at the kitchen table and eat in silence. Afterwards, McGee played a few games on his laptop. Then, thanks to Ziva, he worked on his next book on his typewriter. When he finished the next three chapters, he realized it was close to 8. He set his stuff on the table and stood. He fixed his crutches and tried to move but stumbled and fell. Gibbs ran into the living room with his spare gun held up.

"Tim?"

"Fine. Just…stumbled." McGee huffed. Gibbs put away his gun and helped McGee to his feet.

"You alright?" Gibbs asks handing the crutches to McGee.

"I'm fine. I just hate all of this, you know? I feel helpless." McGee says sighing.

"Tim, you're not helpless, ok? You're never helpless." Gibbs says.

"Well, I feel like it, Jethro. I have a broken leg and if Johnny was to break in here to try and kill me…I wouldn't be able to run."

"If that bastard breaks into my house, I'll kill him." Gibbs says. "Now, head on to bed and get some rest. I'll be in here if you need anything."

"Alright. Night, Jethro."

"Night, Tim."

Tim went to bed and fell into an uneasy sleep filled with nightmares of Johnny Barnes.

**_Tim climbed out of bed and retrieved his crutches. He made his way to the living room._**

**_"_****_Jethro?"_**

**_Tim heard some shuffling and went to turn on the light but it didn't seem to work._**

**_"_****_The lights are working. Where are you?"_**

**_No sound. Tim made his way slowly to the living room where he saw someone sitting on the couch._**

**_"_****_Jethro?" Nothing. "Gibbs?"_**

**_He walked up to the figure and came around to face the figure, who happened to be Gibbs. His eyes were closed as far as Tim could tell._**

**_"_****_Jethro!"_**

**_Suddenly the lights came on and Tim had to blink rapidly. When his eyes adjusted, he stumbled backwards falling onto the floor in horror._**

**_Gibbs's eyes were open and staring at nothing. Blood was flowing down his neck from a single slash to his throat. _**

**_"_****_You're mine, Timmy." _**

**_Tim looked around and saw Johnny standing by the front door. The smile he wore seemed creepily happy and it freaked Tim out. He stumbled to his feet only to be shoved on the couch by Gibbs's body. Tim scrambled to the end trying to get away but then Johnny grabbed him and placed a blade to his throat cutting at the skin._**

**_"_****_You're mine, Timmy. Now and forever and no one will change that. Not your boss, not the FBI, and not your team." Johnny hisses._**

**_Then the blade is brought across his throat. Johnny stepped back and Tim grabbed his throat trying to stop the bleeding. He gurgled as he tried to shout out for help. He felt the blood pour between his fingers and his heart slowing down rapidly. _**

**_The pain he felt was tiny and almost nonexistence until now. It flared like fire and stung as if someone poured alcohol on it. Tim screamed but he could only gurgle and a spray of blood came forth from his mouth._**

**_The last thought he had was that he couldn't protect Gibbs._**

"Damn it, Tim! Wake up!"

McGee's eyes shot open and he sat straight up in bed accidently head butting Gibbs in the process. McGee grabbed his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Jethro. I didn't mean to do that. Or wake you." McGee says.

"It's alright, Tim. You were screaming and I thought something was going on. Nightmare?"

"Yeah." McGee says.

"Johnny?"

"Yes."

"He won't get to you, Tim."

"How do you know that?"

"Do you trust me? Tony? Ziva?"

"Of course!"

"Then trust me when I say he will not get you while the team is around. Now, go back to sleep. And no nightmares and that's an order."

"O-ok. Night, Jethro."

"Night, Tim."


	7. Burn, McGee, Burn

When morning came, the first thing McGee noticed was his aching muscles. He sat up and winced. Leaning against the headboard, he used it for leverage to move his cast leg out of bed and push himself up. He grabbed his crutches and made his way out of the bedroom to the bathroom.

In the mirror was a tired and pale Timothy McGee. He hated seeing himself like that. Plus the bruises and scrapes on his arms and little ones on his face from dodging traffic after Johnny threw him into it hoping to kill him. McGee took his toothbrush and brushed his teeth while trying to hold one crutch for balance. He nearly toppled over a few times but managed to stay upright. After that, he really felt like he needed a shower but he didn't know how to go about doing that with his broken leg.

While he thought of his little dilemma, he didn't hear Gibbs walk up behind him.

"Need help, Tim?"

McGee jumped and lost his balance. His crutches fell with a clatter and he found himself falling…

…right into Gibbs's arms.

McGee blushed and Gibbs had an amused smile on his face. Gibbs pushed him up straight and picked up one crutch as he held onto McGee to keep the man from falling. He handed it to him then got the other one.

"I want to take a shower." McGee says at a lost what to do.

"I'll help you, if you want me to. All we have to do is wrap that cast up so it won't get wet." Gibbs says.

"I can do it myself." McGee mumbles his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"No you can't. You won't be able to stand in the shower on your own and you can't take the crutches with you and wash up at the same time. Your best bet is a bath and have me wash your hair for you and make sure that leg of yours stays dry." Gibbs says matter-of-factly.

"But, boss…!"

"No 'buts', Tim. You get that bath going, strip, and then I'm wrapping the cast and helping you into the tub so you won't break anything else." Gibbs says.

Then he's gone and leaving McGee alone, and blushing madly, in the bathroom standing like an idiot.

When Gibbs returned, McGee had yet to move.

"I told you to get the bath going and strip. Do I have to do it for you, Tim?" Gibbs asks. McGee noticed his voice had taken a barely noticeable change. It sounded like as if Gibbs would be glad to strip McGee of everything.

"I can do it, Jethro." McGee says suddenly feeling like a shy kid again.

"I know you can but I'm not going to allow you to. Can't risk you gaining anymore injuries while Barnes is still on the loose. So suck it up and let me help you. Strip. Now." Gibbs says.

"Can you, uh, turn around then?" McGee asks. It felt like the blush was permanently on his face.

"I was in the Marines, Tim. It's nothing that I haven't seen before." Gibbs says.

"Could you still turn around? Please?"

Gibbs turned around and McGee took off his t-shirt revealing the muscles he had just recently acquired. He'd been going to a gym every weekend when they weren't on call or working a case. He unbuttoned his jeans and tried to get the leg over off his cast but ended up having to sit on the tub and trying to tug it off. He huffed in frustration.

"Still can do it on your own there, Tim?" Gibbs says amused.

"No." McGee admitted frustrated.

Gibbs turned around and kneeled in front of McGee. He slipped off his pants and placed them in the laundry basket. McGee avoided looking straight at Gibbs considering he was sitting on Gibbs's tub in nothing but his black boxers with skulls on them.

"Skull, Tim? Really?" Gibbs says. McGee could practically hear the laugh in his voice.

"They were a gift…from Abby." He mumbles. Could he be anymore embarrassed right now and in front of his boss?

"Their very…unique."

"Can we not talk about my boxers? This is mortifying enough." McGee says.

"Sure. You're going to have to take them off now. Think you can handle it?" Gibbs asks. McGee was glad that Gibbs wasn't mocking him for being helpless. Tony probably would have.

"I can do it. Could you, uh, wrap my leg first?"

"Oh, uh, sure. I'll be right back."

McGee watched as Gibbs left the bathroom like in a retreat. Didn't he just leave to get something? Why did he come back without something to keep his leg dry? Why was Gibbs acting…unGibbs like? And why was he being so nice to him?

A few minutes go by and Gibbs had yet to appear. McGee decided to turn on the tub and let it get warmed up. When it was a 3rd of the way full, he turned it off. Gibbs finally came back; he had a garbage bag in hand. McGee said nothing as Gibbs placed his cast leg into the bag and tied the end off.

"Might want to keep the end out of the water just in case I didn't tie it tight enough." Gibbs says.

McGee nodded and began playing with the waist of his boxers. Gibbs nodded wordlessly and left closing the door behind him. Once the door shut, his boxers were off and he eased himself into the nice, warm water. His broken leg was halfway submerged.

A contented sigh passed McGee's lips as he leaned back and let the water work its magic on his muscles. He closed his eyes and didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he felt water being gently poured over his head. McGee cracked open one eye and saw Gibbs.

"Why are you helping me?" He found himself asking.

"Because you're part of my team. You belong to me, not Barnes." Gibbs says not stopping his ministrations. McGee could have sworn when Gibbs began lathering shampoo in his hair that he was _messaging_ his scalp.

McGee's eyes had closed again as Gibbs rinsed his hair and the fingers gently running through his hair making sure all suds were out. Then he felt a featherlike kiss on his forehead. His eyes shot open and he looked at Gibbs, who had this unreadable expression on his face but McGee could see something in the man's eyes he couldn't describe. Maybe it was fondness? Or dare he hope possible attraction?

"Ready to get out, Tim? I'll fix lunch while you dry off." Gibbs says.

"Yeah. Would you, uh, help me out?" McGee asks in a whisper.

Gibbs stood and held out his hand. McGee grabbed it and purposely avoiding meeting eyes with Gibbs as he was brought to his feet. He felt exposed, which he was, and he hated it. He hated the fact he was dripping wet and naked standing in front of the man he admired for some time.

While avoiding eye contact, he didn't notice Gibbs getting a towel until it was wrapped around his hips. Then one of his crutches was handed to him.

"I'll bring you some clothes that Ziva brought for you. I think she might have brought your whole closet, Tim." Gibbs says his voice rough. With what, McGee wouldn't think about that.

He left and McGee sat on the toilet and dried himself off and then wrapped the towel around his area. Gibbs returned a few seconds after that with a worn t-shirt and old jeans with a whole in the left knee.

"What about, um, boxers?" McGee asks reaching for his jeans first.

"I guess Ziva forgot them." Gibbs says nonchalant.

"I…I can't go commando!" McGee spluttered indignantly.

"I guess you are unless you want to stay naked all day." Gibbs says. "I would not mind that."

The last part was a mumble as Gibbs sat the shirt on the sink and left. McGee didn't think he was supposed to hear that but he did and now he was thinking about his boss.

Was Gibbs attracted to him? Wasn't he straight? He did have 3 ex-wives. How could he be attracted to men? And why him? He certainly wasn't nice looking. McGee barely put himself under the somewhat cute category. Gibbs was strong, brave, intelligent, and an ex-sniper for the Marines. He was just the computer geek who wrote mystery books on the side. He wasn't brave. Far from it actually.

When he finished those thoughts, he managed, with some maneuvering, he pulled on his pants and buttoned and zipped them. He grabbed the sink and pulled himself up and grabbed his crutches, which was leaning against the wall.

McGee made his way to the living room and saw Gibbs. Instantly, dread filled McGee. The look on his boss's face was one of irritation, frustration, anger. His brow was creased in his anger and he was speaking quietly on the phone.

"Jethro?" McGee says.

Gibbs snaps his phone shut and turns to look at him.

"Something's happened, hasn't it? Is the team alright? Ducky and Jimmy? Abby?"

"The team's fine, Tim. It's your apartment building."

"What about my apartment building?"

"It caught fire about 15 minutes ago. Vance just called thinking you was home."

McGee looked at Gibbs in horror.

"Has the fire department got anyone out?"

"I honestly don't know, Tim. I just called Tony to have him go over there and get the details."

"You think this is Johnny, don't you?"

"Yes."

Poor McGee felt the world spin. Gibbs was by him in an instant and helped him to the couch. Gibbs sat down and pulled McGee beside him.

"I'm homeless." McGee whispered his voice tiny and frightened.

Gibbs slapped the back of his gently.

"You have a place here." Gibbs says. McGee nodded. "Once the building is cleared, I can have Tony and Ziva go through your stuff and see what can be salvageable."

"Ok." McGee whispers. Gibbs sighs and stands.

"I'm going to fix lunch and call Tony and see how it's going down there."

McGee watches him leave and wished that Gibbs had stayed and maybe comforted him. Maybe held him? He didn't know where those thoughts were coming from and he honestly didn't care at the moment.

Then he leaned back, closed his eyes, and wished that this was all some horrible nightmare.


	8. Dog Park Shooting

_'__This actually happened.'_ Tim thought as he stood in his burnt apartment.

The fire had been put out sometime ago and cleared for them to walk into. His apartment happened to be on the first floor and it and the few around it had the most damage. Of course, his was nearly nothing but blackness and ashes. His computers had melted and his table charred and in a heap on the floor. His kitchen appliances were melted together forming odd shapes. The fridge was just a pile of goo and the cabinets gone. The bedroom was empty. His bed, dresser, and bedside table had incinerated. A firefighter had even said that the fire most likely started in his bedroom.

Samples of his carpet and other surfaces had been sent to Abby for analyses to check for accelerate. Pieces of furnature were taken out. Firefighters walked in and out of the apartments Tony and Ziva were walking around while McGee was standing in the middle looking at the remains of what was his bookshelf where his journals, computer manuals, a copy of Deep Six, and many other of his favorite books had been.

"There's nothing worth saving here, Probie. I'm sorry." Tony says walking out of McGee's bedroom.

He nodded. He had done knew that. Since they walked in, he had known it.

Gibbs came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Tim." He says. McGee nods.

If losing his home wasn't bad enough, he had learned the old woman from across the hall hadn't got out in time. She had died. An innocent life taken because of Johnny Barnes. Because of him. It was his fault. All of it was. Now his building was partially burned and many residents will have to leave until the damage could be repaired. And a family will have to bury a love one.

McGee turned and slowly made it outside. He made his way to a nearby bench and collapsed onto it as if the weight of the world was pressing down upon him. Clenching a fist, McGee punched the bench in anger and frustration and despair.

"Damn it." McGee cursed as pain radiated from his knuckles. He cradled his hand until the pain dulled.

Then he looked up and around the street. A crowd had gathered and was looking from behind police tape that cut off both ends of the street. People was pointing, taking pictures, and recording. Police officers were posted all around and firefighters were rolling back up their hoses and loading them into the fire trucks. A fire dog began barking and McGee felt the tiniest bit of relief when he remembered he had put Jethro in the kennel the day of their last case and paid for the week. He would have to get him out tomorrow.

"Can't watch your six if you run off, Probie." Tony says sitting down beside him.

"Then don't have my six. It'll just get you killed anyway." McGee says his voice flat.

"We'll always have your six. And almost getting killed is in our job description." Tony says slapping McGee on the back of the head. McGee glared half-heartedly at him as he rubbed his head.

They sat in silence for awhile listening to the sounds of the city, the fire trucks, the people, sirens, and the whispers of the cops as they walked by.

"Tony!"

The two agents jumped and looked around to see Gibbs strolling towards them.

"Yes, boss?" Tony asks.

"I want you to take over here. Ziva is heading to NCIS to speak with Abby and see what she has."

"What is there to take over?" McGee asks.

"I don't want anyone in that building but NCIS or Fornell. This is our case now and I want the locals to know that. No one is to enter the apartment building unless you can vouch for them. Understood?" Gibbs says.

"Yes, boss." Tony says standing.

"Good. I'm taking McGee back to my house. Call me if anything comes up. Ziva has her orders to call you when she finds something then you are to report to me." Gibbs says.

"Yes, boss."

Gibbs nods at him and with one last look at McGee, Tony walks back over to the apartment building.

"Let's go, Tim. There's nothing else you can do here." Gibbs says. McGee nods and stands.

An hour later, McGee found himself lying in Gibbs's guest room staring at the ceiling. All those bad thoughts flew through his mind along with the possibility of him finding Gibbs the slightest bit attractive. They whirled around like a hurricane and he could never focus on one thought for more than a split second. It was causing him to develop a headache. He sighed and closed his eyes trying to make his mind go blank but it didn't work. The darkness just brought new thoughts.

At this rate, he wouldn't be able to sleep. It may have only been around 6 but he was tired and did want sleep it just wouldn't come.

For the next few hours, he tossed and turned trying to sleep and to stop thinking. It wasn't happening. When he did get to sleep, a nightmare of him being caught in his apartment fire had woke him up around 2 in the morning. Apparently, he had let out some sort of noise because Gibbs opened the door.

"Sorry, Jethro." McGee whispered turning away from the sleepy man in the doorway.

Gibbs didn't say a word so McGee figured he had left. Until a sudden pressure made the bed sink beside him. A hand found its way to his hair and it began stroking it softly. The motion was oddly soothing to the younger man.

Still no words were said. Both men stayed silence as the older tried comforting the younger.

Then Gibbs did something McGee never thought he would do: he lifted up the cover and crawled into the bed beside him. The older man lay down and pulled McGee close to him so they were spooning. McGee froze until Gibbs started to stroke his hair again. Slowly, McGee relaxed. Then Gibbs's arm found its way around his waist and fingers were locked together.

"Sleep, Tim. I'll be right here when you wake." Gibbs whispered; hot breathe at his ear making a small shiver go through him. Gibbs tightened his hold mistaking it for a shiver of cold.

Fully relaxed and feeling safe in Leroy Jethro Gibbs's arms, McGee found himself drifting off while listening to the heartbeat of the other man.

No nightmares came to McGee that night.

Almost a week goes by before another attempt is made on McGee's life.

McGee had been getting restless with Gibbs keeping him in the house and basically mother henning over him the whole time. At first, this made McGee feel like a child, and then he thought it was cute, now it was just annoying. He had begged for them to go outside and do something. Gibbs tried to refuse but found himself on the end of the McGee Puppy Eyes and no one had even been able to resist those.

Gibbs gave in and they found themselves in the dog park watching as Jethro, who Abby brought over a few days ago to cheer him up, chased squirrels and other dogs.

The day was bright. Birds chirped happily in their trees. People was laughing and playing with their pets. Couples were walking or having a picnic. A family nearby the bench on which Gibbs and McGee sat was having a picnic together. The day was just perfect. Even Gibbs was smiling as he and McGee talked.

They should have known the peace wouldn't last.

Suddenly, gunshots filled the air. People screamed and ran for cover. Parents ran for their kids, dogs ran frightened. McGee found himself shoved to the ground. Jethro came over and stood over him and growled protectively. Gibbs was crouched beside them gun in hand. He scanned the park but couldn't find where the shooter was coming from. He watched as one man was shot down and another running to help him and getting cut down.

"Protect him, Jethro!" Gibbs shouts over the gunfire. He gets up and runs to a nearby tree. A bullet hit and splintered part of the tree near Gibbs's face.

Gibbs shot in the direction of the shots and quickly ducked back behind the tree. Then the shots were coming from behind him. One scrapped behind his ear. He hissed at the pain but ignored it to find cover. He saw McGee struggle to get up.

"Stay down, Tim!" Gibbs shouted.

McGee either didn't hear him or ignored him because he managed to stand. He pulled out a gun and began to fire towards the shots as well. Gibbs stared at him for a few seconds wondering where the hell he hid that gun at before firing his gun again.

They stopped. Everything was silent. Sirens could be heard in the distant. Gibbs and McGee looked at each other and that's when it happened.

One last shot was fired.

"Tim!" Gibbs shouted as he watched McGee get hit in the arm and he fell back. Jethro started growling and barking and circling around McGee.

Some heartbeats later, sirens was blaring and stopping. An ambulance pulled up behind the cruisers and Gibbs started towards McGee only to be stopped.

"Put the weapon down!" The cop shouted his gun raised. Two others were behind him holding their own weapons.

"I'm Agent Gibbs of NCIS." Gibbs says lowering his weapon. He bent down to place it on the ground. One cop came over and cuffed his hands behind his back. The cop pushed him towards one of the cruisers but he resisted.

"My badge is in my pocket, damn it! I am a Federal Agent and right now you're intruding on a Federal case!" Gibbs growls.

"Sure we are. Witnesses said that the only one in the park with a gun was you." The cop says.

Gibbs pulled away from the cop and backed up until another cop grabbed him.

"Jethro?"

Gibbs stopped.

"Tim, are you alright? I saw you get hit." Gibbs says trying to escape the cop. Another grabbed him and trapped him.

"Get him out of here!" Another cop says.

The two shove Gibbs into a car and drive off. McGee sits up and two cops advance on him weapons on the ready. Jethro growled at them and took a protective stance in front of his master. McGee pulls his badge from his pocket and flashes it. The cops lower their weapons and the lead officer, the one who ordered Gibbs to be taken away, came over.

"Agent, there is an ambulance waiting for you." He says looking at the snarling dog nervously.

"Down, Jethro." The dog stopped and sat at his master's command. "I don't need an ambulance, Officer. I need my partner, who you just sent away in a cop car without checking his ID. I could have you arrested for messing with a Federal Investigation and false arrest. I suggest you get him back here." McGee says standing. An officer hands him his crutches.

About 10 minutes later, news vans and reporters were on scene filming live. Gibbs was brought back after giving several officers tongue lashings. Cruel tongue lashings that they would never forget. He made his way to McGee and Jethro and pulled the younger man into a hug.

Jethro jumped up on them both and Gibbs and McGee found themselves laughing.

"You alright?" Gibbs asks.

"Yeah. Just a graze. What about you?" McGee says.

"Just a scratch." Gibbs says.

McGee gently touches the wound and Gibbs flinched.

"You should get it looked at." McGee says.

"Only if you get that arm looked at." Gibbs says.

McGee only had a mere graze. Barely even a flesh wound but medics wrapped it up once they saw Gibbs's glare. Then they cleaned and bandaged the one just above Gibbs's ear. Then they were driven home and both men and dog collapsed on the couch. McGee found himself pushed by dog Jethro into human Jethro until they would be considered cuddling. Nether men cared. They were alive and breathing.

"You're a good dog, Jethro." Gibbs says patting the dog's head. Jethro let out small bark in satisfaction.

"He sure is." McGee whispered.

"You ok?" Gibbs asks.

"Fine. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"You almost weren't." Gibbs whispered. He kissed McGee's forehead mostly to reassure himself that McGee was really there alive with him.

"What is this, Jethro? What are we?" McGee asks snuggling closer to the older man.

"I don't know, Tim, but whatever the hell 'it' is, I like it." Gibbs says looking down at McGee.

"I think I do, too." McGee says.

He suddenly noticed that their faces were inches apart. McGee locked eyes with Gibbs and blushed at the sparkle in the man's eyes. McGee licked his lips and closed the distance between them.

For a first kiss, it was amazing for the both of them. Slightly chapped lips against smooth ones. Little sparks sent between the two. Getting closer and the kiss getting slightly faster. Lips moving together in a way to make a shiver run up McGee's spine. Hands suddenly finding hair or clothes to hold onto. Stubble rubbing in an unfamiliar, yet thrilling, way. It was perfect. When they pulled away and looked at each other, both could see how much the kiss had affected them both. Lips were kiss swollen and eyes bright with emotions that neither of them had felt for some time.

"You're a good kisser, Tim McGee." Gibbs says smiling.

"You aren't bad yourself, Jethro." McGee says smiling back.

"I think we both could use a nap after today, don't you think? Come on." Gibbs says standing. He holds out his hand and McGee takes it. Instead of releasing it, Gibbs links their fingers and slowly make their way to Gibbs's room (McGee only had 1 crutch so he could hold onto Gibbs's hand).

Once in Gibbs's bedroom, he strips to his boxers and puts on a pair of pajama pants. He throws a pair to McGee and helps him take off his jeans and help with the pants.

Once ready for bed, McGee and Gibbs lay facing each other for a moment before Gibbs pulled McGee to him. He placed his head on top of McGee's.

"Goodnight, Tim."

"Goodnight, Jethro."

The two fell into the most peaceful sleep that either of them had since Johnny Barnes escaped

Neither of them knew of the danger that lay ahead.

Somewhere in the city, a man was sitting in a bar and planning another attempt on McGee's life. Throwing him in traffic didn't work. Setting his apartment on fire didn't work. Shooting at him in broad daylight at a dog park didn't work.

Now, he was getting desperate. He thought maybe of trying to kidnap the grey haired man with McGee but he was certainly not someone to try that on. Then he remembered the other guy that day when he threw McGee in traffic. Maybe kidnap him? He looked like it wouldn't be too difficult…Hopefully.

Johnny Barnes took another shot of vodka and smiled. It might just work.


	9. Tony

Tony was just getting off the elevator and heading to his car. He was about to head over to Gibbs's house to relieve Ziva of guard duty. He was driving down the road and unsuspecting of the car tailing him.

The unsuspecting agent pulled into the gas station and got out and his tail followed, pulling up into a parking spot. The unknown man, who you've guessed to be Barnes, got out and walked up to Tony.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes?" Tony asks.

"Would you mind helping me? I think something's wrong with my car." Johnny says.

"Sure." Tony says. Poor Tony didn't expect anything was wrong. That is, until the hood of the car was opened and Tony found nothing wrong.

"It's making some weird noise when I was driving." Johnny says trying not to sound desperate.

"What sort of noise?" Tony asks slowly inching his hand towards his gun discreetly.

Suddenly, he felt something pressed against his back. Tony stiffened.

"Listen to me and listen well. You and I are going to get in my car and drive off together. Once in the car, you will cuff your hands behind your back and then I'm going to blindfold you. Got it?" Johnny says.

He shoves the gun, because that what it was, harder into Tony's back.

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere with you? Do I owe you money because theirs other ways of getting it then by kidnapping me." Tony says.

"You don't owe me anything. I'm just going to use you to get who I want." Johnny says.

Tony then stiffened even more but with anger.

"You're Johnny Barnes. You want McGee." Tony says his voice low.

"Yes. Now, are you going to come peaceably or will I have to force you?" Johnny asks.

"McGee won't come you know." Tony says as Johnny led him to the passenger side door.

Johnny took one hand and grabbed Tony's cuffs. He snapped one side on and made Tony snap on the other. Johnny opened the door and pushed Tony into the seat and slammed closed the door and hurried to the driver's side.

The car was start and Johnny pulled away from the gas station quickly.

"If he wants to see you alive and in one piece, he will." Johnny says.

"I'm telling you that he won't. He's off somewhere safe where you won't get him." Tony says.

"As of yesterday, he's still here. He was in that dog park with that grey-haired fellow. He can't have gone too far since then." Johnny says.

"McGee still won't come! Even if you have me. Oh, and kidnapping a Federal Officer is not helping your case here, Barnes."

"So you figured out who I am then."

"Not hard. I mean you are after McGee and only a serial killer or some fan girl goes after him. And you don't seem like a fan girl." Tony says.

"You know, I think it's time for you to shut up now."

"Come on, Johnny! I can call you Johnny? You kidnapped the most talkative Agent of NCIS! Surely you knew that?" Tony snickered.

Johnny pulled over and grabbed a piece of cloth from the backseat of the car he'd stolen the day before. He wrapped it around Tony's mouth and tied it tight behind his head. The cloth bit into the edges of Tony's mouth and it was hurting. Tony glared at Johnny while the other man smiled cruelly and continued driving.

"Where is Tony? He had told me he would be here by now." Ziva says as she and McGee sit at Gibbs's kitchen table.

"I'm sure he has a reason, Ziva. Why don't you call him?" McGee says. he takes a bite of pasta that Ziva had cooked for him.

Ziva nods and pulls out her phone. A few seconds its snapped shut.

"It went to voicemail." She says.

"Maybe he's driving." McGee says.

"He still answers. What if something has happened to him?" She asks.

McGee knows she would never admit it but he could tell she was worried and that made McGee start worrying.

"I'll call Gibbs and see if he's at NCIS." McGee says pulling out his own phone.

_"You alright, Tim?"_ Is the first thing Gibbs says when he answers.

"I'm fine, Jethro. Have you seen Tony? He was supposed to be here about 10 minutes ago to relieve Ziva." McGee says.

_"He left here about 45 minutes ago. He should have gotten there by now. You call him?"_

"Ziva did but it went straight to voicemail." McGee says.

_"Probably stopped for coffee."_

"It wouldn't take more than 5 minutes to do that even if it is Tony." McGee says.

"I will call again." Ziva says stepping out of the kitchen.

"Ziva trying to call him again. Jethro, I'm worried." McGee says.

_"It's Tony. If he's not there in 10 minutes, I'll come and relieve Ziva."_

"Alright. Has Abby found anything that would help find Barnes?"

_"No. This guy knows how to hide. But we did have a sighting of a man fitting the description of his new appearance. He stole a car about two streets over from the park."_

"You have a BOLO on the car?"

_"Of course. Don't worry, Tim. We'll get him and keep you safe."_

"What about you? Or Ziva? Or Tony? You're not safe as long as you have to protect me."

_"We're never safe, Tim. You should know this. We put our lives on the line everyday of our careers." _

McGee sighs.

"I know but this has me all cross wired."

_"I know, Tim. I know. How about I make cowboy steaks tonight and invite everyone over?"_

"That sounds great."

_"Good. Now, Abby has been trying to call me so I'm going to go see what she has. Bye, Tim."_

"Bye, Jethro."

McGee shuts his phone and leans back.

"I cannot get Tony on the phone. He is not opening up." Ziva says walking back into the room.

"It's picking up not opening up, Ziva. And I just called Jethro. Said Tony left about 45 minutes ago. Do you think something's happened, Ziva?" McGee asks.

"I do not know, McGee. But I feel like something has, yes." She says.

"What if Barnes has him?" McGee asks.

"We do not know that. He may be caught in traffic or has stopped and talking to some woman he met while grabbing coffee." Ziva says.

"You're probably right. This case has me tense and paranoid." McGee says.

"Now, let us just sit here and wait for him." Ziva says.

McGee nods and he and Ziva eat a small breakfast.

Somewhere in an abandon warehouse, Tony was tied to a chair. His face was bruised and his ribs ached from the beating that Johnny had given him. He was unconscious with blood coming from his nose and his chin on his chest. He was gagged and Johnny Barnes sat nearby holding Tony's phone. Then he flipped it open, scrolled through his contacts, and selected one and called.


	10. The Phone Call

**Author's Note: I'm sorry for those reading who did not like slash. I do apologized because i didn't plan on making that way until a friend of mine read it and asked me was i making that because he said it sounded that way. And i apologize for my rating and anything else a few of you do not like. I promise the next story i post will NOT be slash. I will try to make sure i have everything on my stories rated and paired appropriately. And i want to thank those who likes where my story is going! And this chapter is short and i apologize for that too. Still, enjoy lovelies! **

**-Lucy **

Gibbs walked into Autopsy.

"Hello, Jethro. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Ducky asks.

"Need someone to talk to." Gibbs says.

"About what? I have no case and no body for you." Ducky says.

"About Tim."

"What about young Timothy? He is alright isn't he, Jethro?"

"He's fine. I'm just…"

"Worried for the lad? I know, Jethro."

"Yes."

"He is quite fine, I assure you. With Ziva and Tony and yourself watching him, he's protected."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Why the sudden doubt? Surely you know that no one can get to Timothy with your team at his back."

"I don't doubt my team, Duck. I know they can protect Tim. It's just Barnes is not going to give up until he has him so he can kill him."

"It sounds like you do, Jethro. The way you are speaking suggests to me that you don't truly believe Ziva and Toy can watch and protect Timothy. You know they are very good at their jobs as of you."

Suddenly, the phone of Autopsy rings. Ducky answers it while Gibbs just stands there.

"Dr. Mallard speaking."

_"__Hello, Doctor. I believe you are a friend of Agent McGee's?" _Barnes asks on the other line.

"I am. He is ok, isn't he?" Ducky asks.

_"__For now, yes. He will not be once I get hold of him." _

Ducky looked up at Gibbs and the Agent instantly knew something was up. Ducky put the phone on speaker and gently sat the phone on the cradle.

"You are the killer who is after Timothy. Barnes I believe is your name." Ducky says.

_"__Very good, Dr. Mallard. Now, I've called you because I couldn't find Timmy's number in this guy's phone. I have a message for him I would like you to deliver to him for me." _

"And why would I do that for you? You are out for blood, Mr. Barnes." Ducky says looking at Gibbs.

_"__Because if you don't, then my guest will become yours."_

"And who, may I ask, is your guest?" Ducky asks.

_"__You see, that's my problem. I don't really know his name but I have seen him with that grey haired man not long ago. Saw them together after I threw Timmy into the street." _

Gibbs looked at Ducky.

"Is he alright?" Gibbs asks.

_"__Oh, I recognized that voice. You're the grey haired man!"_

"Agent Gibbs, Barnes. You have my Agent and after another. What do you want?" Gibbs asks.

_"__You need to give a message to Timmy for me. If he wants to see his fellow Agent alive, he'll call me at this number and make a deal. If he doesn't, then I'll kill this Agent and anyone else close to him. Including you and Dr. Mallard, Agent Gibbs."_

"I want to speak to Agent DiNozzo." Gibbs says.

_"__He's unconscious at the moment, Agent Gibbs. And it's good to know who I have with me. Don't worry; he'll be safe unless Timmy fails to call. Oh, he has one hour. Goodbye."_

The line goes dead and Ducky looks at Gibbs worriedly.

"This is certainly a dilemma, Jethro."

"You have no idea, Duck."

Johnny was sitting across from Tony watching the Agent as he began to stir back into wakefulness. When Tony lifted his head and opened his good eye, he seemed disoriented.

"Where am I?" He asks.

"In my presence waiting for Timmy to call and make a deal for your release, of course." Johnny says.

"Of course." Tony mumbles. "McGee won't deal with you. I know him. Probie doesn't make deals."

"He will if he wants you to live, Agent DiNozzo."

"Oh, so you know who I am now? Does that mean I can call you Johnny?"

Johnny stands and punches Tony in the jaw. He grunts in pain as his head is whipped to the side.

Tony moves and works his jaw.

"Guess that's a no." Tony says. Johnny stays quiet. "You know, this reminds me of a movie I saw once. Bad guy uses someone close to get their intended victim. Never worked out well for the kidnapper, though. Won't end well for you either."

Johnny grabbed a strip clothe and tied it back around Tony's mouth.

"Do shut up, Agent DiNozzo. You are annoying. It's a wonder none of co-workers have shot you themselves. I'm tempted to do it now." Johnny says. Then a slow, Cheshire Cat like grin spread across his face. "Or I can have fun and do to you what I did to Timmy."

Tony gulped and watched as Johnny pulled a knife from his pocket and advanced towards him.


	11. McGee

"What are you going to, Jethro?" Ducky asks.

"I honestly don't know and that scares the hell out of me."

"You must call Timothy. Or at least Ziva considering she is watching over him. Or perhaps you should go to him and tell him in person."

"I have only an hour to let tell Tim about this. Even with my driving, I won't be able to make it home in time."

Ducky picks up his phone and dials McGee's number and then placed the phone on speaker.

_"__McGee."_

"Hello, Timothy. I'm afraid we have a problem."

_"__Ducky? What kind of problem? Is Tony ok? And Jethro? Please tell me there're alright."_

"I'm fine, Tim. It's about Barnes." Gibbs says.

_"__What happened?"_ Gibbs could hear the worry and fear in McGee's voice.

"He has Tony." Jethro says.

The line goes silent.

"Timothy? Are you alright?" Ducky asks.

_"__I, uh…Are you sure? I mean, he could just be running late."_

"We're sure. Barnes just called Ducky to tell us." Jethro says.

"And to deliver a message to you." Ducky adds.

_"__What message? Just tell me, Jethro!"_

"You are to call him on Anthony's phone in the next hour or…"

_"__Or what, Ducky?"_

"He kills Anthony and then Jethro and myself." Ducky says cautiously.

_ "__Alright. How am I supposed to reach him?"_

"On Anthony's cell." Ducky says.

_"__Did he give you anything else to tell me? I know there has to be more." _

"He wants to deal with you for Tony's release, Tim. Look, call him but do not make a deal. I'm going to have Abby trace Tony's cell." Gibbs says.

_"__Ok…I'll call you back." _McGee says. Then the line goes dead.

McGee looks at Ziva.

"So, Tony has been captured?" She asks.

"Yes. Now, I'm supposed to call Barnes." McGee says.

"Gibbs tells you not to make a deal with this Barnes? He is coming for you."

"Yes but if I have to make a sacrifice to save Tony, I will. He's my friend and I won't let Barnes hurt him."

"You are a good man, McGee."

"Thanks, Ziva. Would you mind stepping out while I make the call? I feel better if I talk to him alone."

"Of course. You will shout for if I am needed, yes?"

"Yes."

Ziva nods, squeezes McGee's shoulder, and walks out of the room. McGee waits until she disappears before finding his phone and tapping in Tony's number. He took a deep breath and dialed.

Johnny had cut away Tony's jacket and under shirt and peeled it off of him. Then he pressed the knife to Tony's shoulder blade and began to press the sharp tip into flesh when Tony's phone rang. If Tony could, he would have sighed in relief.

Johnny walked away and picked up Tony's phone.

"Yes?" Johnny says gleefully.

_"__It's Tim McGee, Johnny. I heard you wanted to make a deal with me for Tony's release."_

Johnny placed the phone on speaker and walked over to Tony.

"I sure do, Timmy." Tony's eyes widened. "I want you to come to the docks and meet me at the furthest one where the St. Mary is docked. Be alone and then we can trade. Cell phones, guns, knives, or anything that could be used for a weapon is to be left behind. If I think you are being followed, the deal is off and I will kill Agent DiNozzo. Do we have a deal?"

Tony tried to protest but all he could do was make a muffled sound through the gag.

_"__We have a deal. What time?"_

"8 when it's good and dark. Don't be late, Timmy." Johnny says smiling. He snaps shut the phone and looks at Tony. "Today's your lucky day, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony glares at Johnny while the serial killer smirked victoriously. He looked at Tony's phone and made a humming noise.

"Seems like we have about 2 hours to kill. I'm just going to run out and get a few supplies. Don't go anywhere!" Johnny says laughing.

Then Tony watches the man go and shut off the lights bathing the warehouse room in darkness. The Senior Field Agent fidgeted in his chair and cringed as he began to hear rats scurry around the room.

_'__I hope you and Gibbs has a plan, Probie.'_ Tony thinks as he closes his eyes.

McGee shut his phone and sat it on the table and began to form his own plan in his head. He would go meet Johnny and save Tony. First, he has to get away from Ziva.

He grabbed his phone and typed a number in.

_"__Virginia Taxi Service. How can I help you?"_

"I need a taxi." McGee whispers.

_"__To where do we pick you up?"_

McGee gave him Gibbs's address.

_"__One will be there in 10 minutes to pick you up, sir. Have a nice day."_

McGee snapped the phone shut again and sat it on the table again. He stood and grabbed his crutches. He made his way into the living room where Ziva was standing watching out the living room window. She turned when he walked in.

"What did Barnes say?" She asks.

"He wants me to meet him and trade."

"Trade for what?"

"Myself for Tony."

"You are not, correct? We cannot risk your life, McGee." Ziva says.

"I have to, Ziva. I won't let Barnes hurt Tony if I can help it."

"I will not allow you to do this. I am calling Gibbs." Ziva says reaching for her phone, which sat on Gibbs's coffee table.

McGee took this chance and hit Ziva with his crutch, knocking her to the ground where she hit her head. McGee went wide-eyed in surprise at what he done. He made his way to the floor and checked her pulse. She was alive and her pulse normal. McGee had just knocked her out. He pulled himself up with his crutches.

"I'm so sorry for this, Ziva. But I'm going to save Tony no matter what." McGee says.

He drops his crutches beside Ziva and limps his way outside. About 5 minutes later, the cab is pulling up and McGee limps his way to it and inside. He gives the cabbie the address to the docks and they're off.

"Why hasn't he called me back, Duck?" Jethro asks.

"Maybe he is still speaking with the man. Or he and Ziva are making a plan on how to best approach this situation." Ducky says.

Gibbs pulls out his phone and calls Ziva. When it rings and goes to voicemail, he knows something's wrong. He can feel it in his gut.

"Jethro?" Ducky says.

"Something's not right. Ziver isn't answering." He tries to call McGee but it just keeps ringing. "Or Tim. Ducky, I don't like this." Gibbs says.

He turns and walks out of Autopsy.

"Where are you going?"

"Abby!" Jethro replies stepping into the elevator.

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab and is hit with loud, blasting music. Abby was at her computer oblivious of Gibbs.

"Abby!" Gibbs shouts.

She turns and takes her remote and turns off the music.

"Hey, Gibbs. I don't have anything to help with locating Barnes." She says.

"That's not important right now, Abs. I need a location on Tim's phone right now." Gibbs says. Abby nods and types furiously on her computer.

"No signal. It's probably off. What's going on, Gibbs?" Abby asks getting worried.

"What about Ziva's?"

Abby types again.

"She's at your house. Isn't she with Tim? You could call her since you can't get hold of McGee."

"She hasn't answered my calls. Something's going on and I don't like it. Find Tony's cell."

"He's moving…down 1st Street. Wait, I thought he was going to relieve Ziva? I mean, she's been watching Tim since this morning." Abby says confused.

"Barnes has Tony, Abs. And I think he might just be getting Tim. Pull up Tim's phone records."

Abby looked horrified but did as told.

"He received a call from Tony's phone about 25 minutes ago. Not long after that, he called another number." She says.

"Who'd he call?" Gibbs asks.

Abby types and pulls up a webpage on her screen.

"A cab company. Virginia Taxi Service." Abby says.

"Damn it."

"What? What is it, Gibbs?"

"McGee is meeting Barnes." Gibbs says walking away quickly.

"Bring them both back safe, Gibbs!" Abby shouts after him.

Gibbs takes his car and drives full speed to his home. His door is a jar so he pulls his weapon and advances in slowly. The first thing he sees is Ziva on the ground. He rushes to her and places to fingers on her neck. Then she's opening her eyes and trying to sit up.

"Easy, Ziver. What happened here?" Gibbs asks helping her up.

"McGee. He hit me over the head as I reached for your phone. He is gone." She says as Gibbs helps her stand.

"Why would he do that?" Gibbs asks.

"He has gone to deal with Barnes. He is going to get himself killed." Ziva says.

"No he won't. Abby is tracking Tony's cell. We'll go and get them both back. When we do, I'm head slapping the pair of them into tomorrow." Gibbs says. Ziva gives a small smile.

Gibbs calls Abby and gets the current location of Tony's cell.

By the time McGee reached the docks, it was around 7:45. He paid the cabbie and made his way towards the end of the docks where he looked for the St. Mary. When he did, he checked his watch. It was almost 8. McGee stood there until a car pulled up and the headlights lit him up. He tensed as it got closer.

Other than the headlights, the only source of light was a couple of lamps around the docks.

When the car stopped, a man stepped out and went over to the passenger side and pulled someone else out.

"Timmy! How good to see you again!"

"Hello, Barnes."

"You don't sound too happy to see me. I'm hurt, Timmy! Hurt!" Johnny says mockingly. "Now, head right over to the end of the dock like a good boy."

McGee did as he was told when he saw Johnny bring a gun up to Tony's head. He couldn't tell how Tony was health wise since it was dark. Once at the end, they stopped.

"Now, be good and stay right there as I approach you." Johnny says as he pushes Tony ahead of him. When he and Tony are a foot or so from McGee, Johnny smiles. "So, here is what going to happen, Timmy. I'm going to push Tony to you and you're going to undo his cuffs. Then Agent DiNozzo is going to cuff your hands and leave. You and I will then get on the St. Mary and we'll sail into the night."

By the end of Johnny's instructions, he began to sound giddy.

McGee nods as Tony shakes his head. Tony is pushed forward and the keys to the cuff are thrown to him. McGee releases Tony and he pulls the gag from his mouth.

"You alright, Tony?" McGee asks.

"Fine, Probie. This is stupid and Gibbs will not be happy with this." Tony says as he cuffs McGee's hands behind his back.

"He sure won't."

Johnny quickly runs behind McGee and Tony. He grabs hold around McGee's neck and places the gun to his head. Tony is kicked in the back of the knee by Johnny and falls to the ground. They all look up to see the unmistakable form of Gibbs and Ziva guns raised at them.

"Let him go. You cannot escape, Barnes." Ziva says.

"Nope. Timmy and I will be leaving and that won't change." Johnny says backing up towards the boat dragging McGee with him.

"You have nowhere to go, Barnes." Gibbs says. He and Ziva approached as Johnny retreated. Tony stood with the help of Gibbs when close enough.

"Stay back or I'll kill him!" Johnny shouts shoving the gun into McGee's cheek bone.

McGee looked at Gibbs with fear and a fierce determination. Tony, Ziva, and Gibbs all decided that they did not like that look at all.

"You won't kill him. You've waited too long to get back at him. You want to take it slow because you were interrupted lat time. Killing him now would just get yourself killed faster." Gibbs says.

"I…I'll do it!" Johnny says as he reached the end of the dock. He began to look frantically for any escape. He had failed to get to the boat.

"No, you won't." Gibbs says.

Johnny points the gun at Gibbs and Ziva fires, hitting Johnny in the arm. He screamed in pain and fell backwards and off the dock…

…dragging McGee into the murky depths below with him.


	12. Saving Tony and Tim

**Oh my...It's the last chapter! I'm sorry for it being later but i have been gone all day and just only got back home. So, here is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

**-Lucy**

"Tim!" Gibbs shouts shocked as he watched his…what? Boyfriend? Partner? Lover?...go over the edge and splash into the darkness below.

He dropped his gun and ran and dived into the water. Tony dropped his gun and followed suit leaving Ziva to call the others, backup, Fornell, and an ambulance.

Gibbs dived into the water and instantly his vision was obscured. It was dark and nasty looking and he could feel slimy underwater plants rub against his as he swam looking for McGee. Tony was swimming right beside him and looking as well. Then they saw two blurs struggling over something. The pair of them swam closer only to stop as one blur went limp and float backwards. The other swam towards the surface and Tony followed. Gibbs swam to the sinking figure only to recognize McGee, mouth open and eyes closed. The older Agent grabbed him and made his way upwards towards air. As he did, his lungs began to feel like they were on fire. He needed to breath but he also needed McGee to be safe.

They broke the surface and Gibbs gulped fresh air and dragged McGee to land and saw Tony nearby with Barnes cuffed and throwing up lungs full of water. Ziva came into the water and helped dragged unconscious McGee to shore and laid him down. She checked his pulse and let her panic show.

"He is not breathing." She says.

Gibbs opens McGee's mouth and holds his nose. He breathes his own oxygen into McGee. He presses on the younger man's chest. One. Two. Three. Breathe into his mouth. Pump 3 more times.

"Breath, damn it! Don't you give up on me now, Tim!" Gibbs shouts.

Water drips from his hair. He shivers as wind blows over the dock. Sirens are heard in the distance and approaching fast. Tires squealed. Hands pull at Gibbs and he fought them.

"Let them do their job, Jethro."

Ducky. Ducky was there and holding his arm. Tony was on his other side. Ziva angrily pulled a still spluttering Johnny Barnes. When Barnes saw paramedics working on McGee, he began to laugh maniacally.

"I killed your precious agent! I have got my revenge!" He says cheerfully as if he just won the god damn lottery and had a date with the hottest woman on the planet.

Ziva growled and pushed him into the arms of another police officer.

"Get him out of here. Do not let him out of your sight. He is a threat." She growls. The officer nods and drags him away.

Then everyone turns to McGee. They watch as one medic gives him CPR. He's not responding. They do this for a minute and when they get no response to their treatment, they move away from McGee's still form. One medic looks at his watch.

"Time of death: 9:05." He says.

Ziva looks like she's about to burst into to tears. Ducky does start crying. Palmer, who was right behind the coroner, took off his glasses and began to cry as well. Gibbs looked at McGee and felt as if something in his chest was painfully ripped away. The man he had started falling for and just got with was gone. He didn't have a chance to get to know him better than he did. There was no chance of them having a relationship other than boss/employee anymore. He wouldn't learn about McGee on a more personal level.

He felt like the world was laughing at him because he felt like the day he was told his wife and daughter had been murdered.

Gibbs was going through a flurry of emotions and he just didn't know which one to lash out with.

He didn't have to when he heard a cough and saw McGee surge over and a ton of water flowed from his mouth. Ducky and Gibbs was at his side instantly. Ziva and Palmer walked up to him and stood over him with relief written on their faces. McGee coughed until all water was gone and his throat hurt.

"Oh dear boy, Timothy! Gave us all quite the scare!" Ducky exclaimed.

The medics just stood back looking shocked.

"You were dead." One says.

"N-not…n-ow." McGee rasped.

He shivered and one medic brought over an orange shock blanket. Ducky covered him as the medics brought one for Gibbs and Tony.

"Damn it, Tim! Why can't you follow orders?" Gibbs asks relief filling his voice. McGee gave a small, shaky smile in response.

They transported McGee to the hospital where he was to be kept overnight. Doctors removed his ruined cast and redid it and giving him strict instructions to stay off of it if at all possible. The next morning, Gibbs invited everyone to his house where hugs was exchanged (Abby's being the tightest and longest) and handshakes and well wishes were said.

Everyone made it clear how relieved and happy that McGee was still alive. Ziva even forgave him for knocking her unconscious and complimenting his bravery for wanting to save Tony at the risk of his own life. When everyone left (with more hugs, handshakes, and kisses to the cheek by the girls) Gibbs had all but dragged McGee to his bedroom and hugged to living daylights out of him.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Gibbs says pulling away. Then he slaps the back of McGee's head. "And don't disobey orders again."

"Sorry, Jethro."

"It's alright, Tim. You're safe and so is Tony. Barnes is going back to prison where he'll be secured and placed in isolation." Gibbs says.

"Good." Tim says sighing tiredly.

"Come on. Bed, Tim." Gibbs says pushing McGee onto his bed. Gibbs slid in beside him and McGee couldn't help but snuggle close.

In response, Gibbs wrapped his arms around him and pulled the blanket on top of them.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Jethro." McGee mumbled before falling asleep. Gibbs smiled fondly at the younger man.

"Anytime, Tim. Anytime." He whispered. He placed a soft kiss to McGee's brow and was dragged into sleep a few seconds after.


End file.
